British Railways Grampus wagons are the standard design of 20-ton steel bodied open wagon built for the engineering departments. Generally referred to as ballast wagons the Grampus design was developed from designs by the pre-nationalisation companies, the BR design incorporating removable end panels which make the Grampus useful for carrying exceptionally long loads like crossing timbers and signal posts in addition to the traditional role as ballast carriers. The wagons have had very long lives, many still being found in the 1980s being utilised as general material carriers, loaded with absolutely anything the engineers needed and sometimes resembling mobile rubbish bins.
The Dapol model nicely recreates this very common wagon type, this model painted weathered black livery can be used right through the wagons life, as many seem to have never been repainted!